1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an attachment means and an apparatus comprising such an attachment means for lifting heavy loads by means of a lifting means in the form of a sling or strap.
2. Description of Prior Art
Attachment means and apparatuses of this type are required, for example, when laying pipelines or workpieces of a comparable large size. Pipelines are usually made up of individual pipe sections and are generally laid in a channel or trench. Prior to laying the pipe sections are welded together so they can then be lifted into the prepared channel or trench. Other applications are, for example, large pipe-shaped components of wind power stations.
In order to minimize the stress on the components, a wide hoisting sling or strap is placed around the respective component generally at a plurality of coupling points, said hoisting sling or strap is then hung onto the hook of a crane by means of an attachment means. The typically triangular or trapezoidal attachment means generally have a slit which runs parallel to the base of the attachment means, through which the respectively used lifting means (hoisting sling or hoisting strap) is drawn.
Additionally, a coupling opening is generally formed in the hoist which is positioned in the region of the top of the attachment means that rises above the slit. The hook of a crane, for example, can engage in the coupling opening in order to lift the attachment means using the hoisting strap and the pipe section resting therein.
Although the conventional attachment means described above have proven themselves in practice, they do have various disadvantages in terms of production and cost. For instance, the known attachment means generally need to be configured as forged pieces with a simple design in order to have sufficient load bearing capacity for transporting heavy weights. Moreover, it is necessary in many cases, due to the heavy loads to be moved which consequently apply high loads on the attachment means, to divide the slit receiving the lifting means using a bar which supports the contact section of the attachment means receiving the load delimiting the slit in the direction of the load to be moved. This leads either to two lifting means in the form of a sling or strap having to be fitted into the attachment means or specially manufactured lifting means having to be used which is divided accordingly in its region assigned to the slit.
A further disadvantage of the known attachment means also increasing the costs of known attachments means of the type described above consists in the fact that during production, the respective lifting means first has to be inserted into the slit with loose ends. The loose ends then need to be stitched together to form a strap for carrying the load. Since this work generally has to be done by hand, this represents a considerable physical imposition on the person doing the stitching in addition to a large number of costly processes.